Milestone in the News!

For The Bride, May/June 2002

Small But Perfectly Formed

Jill Burns and Zakaria Halim, 1st June 2001

Wedding celebrations are as different as the couples that are
marrying, and Jill and Zak’s day, while not following the
pattern of a traditional wedding, was no less special. The couple knew
that they didn’t want a typically English wedding, instead
wanting a small private day with just the guests that they really
wanted there. The ceremony with all the trimmings was held on 1st June,
and a Muslim wedding was conducted by the ’matzoun’ in
London’s Baker Street the day after. Jill and Zak’s Muslim
ceremony was quite low key, and the couple attended the ceremony in
their jeans. Jill converted to Islam immediately prior to the wedding
and had to speak in Arabic at the ceremony for the first time.

Although the guest list for the civil ceremony was small, the
trimmings were no less grand and no less personal to the happy couple.
Jill designed a stunning, triangular necklace in amber and had it made
in Egypt, the home of her groom, Zak. She wore a simple satin bodice
and skirt, designed by Helen Marina, in a cappuccino coloured Duchess
satin and kept her veil and tiara simple to make a showcase of her
fabulous necklace. The colour of the necklace was echoed in Jill’s
bouquet. She carried a round posy of deep red roses tied with organza
ribbon, and had tiny red blooms in her hair. Zak chose a light suit to
complement Jill’s dress, which he wore with a bronze coloured
shirt and tie. Best men Robert, Jill’s brother and Amr,
Zak’s friend looked smart in charcoal coloured suits.

The elegance of the day was reflected in Jill’s choice of
transport. She was whisked to the civil ceremony, held at the Foxbury
Conference Centre, Chiselhurst, Kent in an Inspector Morse style white
Jaguar. Twenty five guests witnessed the civil ceremony, during which
poems were read by Jill’s sister Lesley and friend Julie, and
rings were exchanged. Jill now wears an 18 carat gold wishbone ring
inset with diamonds, and Zak wears a two colour gold ring. As well as
vows, the bride and groom also said a few words. Jill spoke the lyrics
to Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion, and Zak adapted lines spoken
by Jack Nicholson to Helen Hunt in the film As Good as It Gets.

The celebrations then moved to a reception room which held just three
tables which had been beautifully decorated. White linen and beautiful
cutlery was arranged with decorated place cards and floral centrepieces
around a pillar candle. The guests enjoyed a three course meal
including a starter of smoked salmon, a main course of fillet of beef
with grain mustard sauce, finished off with Normandy apple tart.
Romantic adagios played in the background, giving a lovely atmosphere
to the celebrations.

Although no speeches or toasts had been planned, Zak and Robert,
Jill’s brother, made spontaneous and unrehearsed speeches that
were very moving, causing a few of the guests to shed a tear.

Jill and Zak chose to have their reception for the afternoon only, so
once they had had a chance to chat to their guests, they departed for
their first night hotel, Rowhill Grange in Wilmington, Dartford, where
they enjoyed sleeping in a four poster bed, before travelling to London
for their Muslim ceremony. With the formalities over, the honeymoon
could begin. The couple travelled to Zak’s home country, Egypt,
staying first on the banks of the Nile, then a hotel in the shadow of
the pyramids and finally in the guests’ quarters of one of the
palaces of the last king of Egypt, King Farouk.